Why - and HOW - you should wash your hands with soap

How clean are YOUR hands? The answer, revealed in this unique experiment, may shock you - and change how you wash!

• You probably don't clean your hands anywhere near as well as you think

• And proper hand washing is important - our hands can harbor nasty bugs

• Include E.coli, salmonella, the superbug MRSA, as well as flu viruses

Are your hands clean? Sure, you washed them after you went to the bathroom, but as the experiment here reveals, you probably didn't clean them anywhere near as well as you thought.

And proper hand washing is important - our hands can harbor a nasty colony of illness-inducing bugs including E.coli, salmonella, clostridium difficile, campylobacter, the superbug MRSA (which is resistant to certain antibiotics), as well as cold and flu viruses and norovirus, the winter vomiting bug.

But what constitutes proper hand washing, and are you doing enough to protect yourself?

To find out a special UV camera was used to test different hand-washing techniques - from the typical 'rinse and shake' to the 30 seconds recommended by a leading authority on disease control. First, a gel known as Glo Germ was applied, which simulates how bacteria cling to your skin. The gel, which is clear but 'glows' under UV light, is used as a visual aid in hygiene training - it's been used for training nurses who are going to be working with ebola patients, for example. The gel contains particles the same size as bacteria, so any that are left behind (ie, that shows up white in the UV light) gives you an immediate idea of how good your hand-washing technique is. In other words, the whiter the hands in these pictures, the dirtier they are - and the darker they are, the cleaner.

The results may make you think twice the next time you're at the bathroom sink...

The whiter the hand, the more bugs left after washing:

Photo and experiment article above reprinted from The Daily Mail

Follow Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way

Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community—from your home and workplace to childcare facilities and hospitals.

Follow these five steps every time.

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.

2. Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.

4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.

5. Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Use Hand Sanitizer When You Can’t Use Soap and Water

You can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.

Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations. If soap and water are not readily available, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. You can tell if the sanitizer contains at least 60% alcohol by looking at the product label.

Sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in many situations. However,

• Sanitizers do not get rid of all types of germs.

• Hand sanitizers may not be as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.

• Hand sanitizers might not remove harmful chemicals from hands like pesticides and heavy metals.

Caution! Swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizers can cause alcohol poisoning if more than a couple of mouthfuls are swallowed. Keep it out of reach of young children and supervise their use. Learn more here.

How to use hand sanitizer

• Apply the gel product to the palm of one hand (read the label to learn the correct amount).

• Rub your hands together.

• Rub the gel over all the surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry. This should take around 20 seconds.

These instructions are from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Find out more at http://cdc.gov